Michael Mizrachi Leads $10k Seven Card Stud Championship After Day 1

Michael Mizrachi, fresh off of his impressive victory in the $50,000 Poker Player's Championship, is at it again.

Day 1 of the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship is now in the books, with Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi finishing as the tournament chip leader.

Mizrachi is off to a strong start in his quest for a second World Series of Poker bracelet, but he obviously has a great deal of work left to do. The list of the top 10 chip stacks heading into Day 2 is filled with multiple bracelet winners, including:

Doyle Brunson - 100,000
Men Nguyen - 94,000
Daniel Negreanu - 88,000

Michael Mizrachi managed to finish Day 1 with around 192k in chips, while Vladimir Schmelev (who finished in second place in the $50k Poker Player's Championship) finished the day with around 180k in chips.

Day 2 will get under way at 3 pm (local time) on Friday afternoon.

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2. Phil Laak's Attempt At Breaking the Poker Endurance World Record Reaches The Halfway Point.

40 hours down, 40 hours to go.

A few moments ago, Phil Laak reached the halfway point of his 80 hour poker endurance challenge.

If Laak can play for 80 hours straight (with short breaks here and there to change clothes, etc), then he will beat Paul Zimbler's record and will find himself in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Laak started his attempt on June 2nd at the Bellagio.

Phil is using this attempt to raise money for Camp Sunshine, which is an "an organization that provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of the child's illness." Phil will also be donating half of the money won over the course of the 80 hours (if he wins any - so far he is down about $5500).

If you are interested in following Phil's progress, you can watch a live stream from the Bellagio here.